India clinched victory against Netherlands by 17 runs in their last Group A clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Ahmedabad on Monday, thanks to Shivam Dube’s explosive batting and Varun Chakravarthy’s puzzling spin bowling. After choosing to bat first, India stumbled early as both opening batsmen fell during the powerplay, with Abhishek Sharma getting out for zero for the third consecutive time. But Dube came to the rescue with a blazing 66 runs from just 31 balls, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav chipped in with 34, alongside useful contributions from Hardik Pandya (30) and Tilak Varma (28), helping India reach 193/6 in their 20 overs. Chasing the target, Netherlands could only manage 176/7 in their allotted overs. Chakravarthy was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps, including two wickets in consecutive deliveries, while Dube grabbed a couple and Bumrah delivered an impressive performance. This win ensures India maintains their perfect streak, winning all four group matches with a flawless record as they advance to the Super 8 round. Dube And Varun Helped India Unbeaten In Group Stage .
TOSS
India won the coin flip and decided to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Netherlands (Playing XI):
Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Zach Lion-Cachet, Noah Croes, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein
India (Playing XI):
Ishan Kishan(w), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
INDIA
India’s batting performance stayed pretty flat until the 12th over rolled around, and even then it seemed like it might just be a brief spark. Everything before that moment was tough going for India’s top-order batsmen as Netherlands’ bowling attack found their rhythm, hitting the right spots while sticking to their game plan. Abhishek Sharma got dismissed for a third straight zero, and Ishan Kishan had some bad luck – both falling to off-spinner Aryan Dutt, who bowled brilliantly during the PowerPlay, giving away only 17 runs in three fantastic overs.
The Dutch medium-pace bowlers then made life difficult for Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav for quite a while. The middle phase became a real grind against slower deliveries pitched short and wide of off-stump. An incredible catch by Roelof van der Merwe then ended a partnership that wasn’t really going anywhere, as Tilak walked back disappointed after scoring 31 from 27 balls. Suryakumar was searching for a way to turn things around for himself and the team like he managed against USA, but that breakthrough moment never really arrived.
On the final delivery of the 12th over, Suryakumar finally broke a 19-ball dry spell without boundaries by launching a six over his preferred fine leg area, and Dube joined the party against Colin Ackermann in the following over after a shaky beginning. He smashed the medium pacer for a couple of sixes and a boundary in that over, but Kyle Klein struck back in the 14th. He got Suryakumar caught at the long leg boundary for 34 off 28 balls, bringing Hardik Pandya to the crease just as the final overs were approaching.
However, he could not middle as well as he wanted, which further limited his performance itself. As per his batting performance, Dube played like he was in a completely different match regarding the conditions. Basically he started with 6 runs from 11 balls and then scored the same half-century in just 25 balls. As per the bowling in the final overs, Netherlands gave many bad balls like full tosses and easy deliveries regarding which the batsman hit them happily over mid-wicket and long-on for sixes.
He targeted Logan van Beek in the 17th over where we are seeing 20 runs scored, then hit Klein for only a four in the 18th over and got another six against van Beek in the 20th over before getting caught at fine leg by substitute Timm van der Gugten for 66 runs in only 31 balls. Basically, Hardik’s timing was all over the place, but he still managed to hit three sixes in his 30 runs from 21 balls. We are seeing India making 75 runs in the last five overs only, which made it very difficult for Netherlands to win the match.
NETHERLANDS-
Netherlands opener Max O’Dowd surely managed to survive Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling during the PowerPlay overs. Moreover, he was dismissed by Varun CV who bowled him out in the sixth over. We are seeing Hardik only getting Michael Levitt out when Netherlands was struggling to score runs in the middle overs. Colin Ackermann actually hit two big sixes to make the chase exciting, but Varun definitely got him and Dutt out on back-to-back balls. Dube, who had conceded runs earlier, took a wicket by dismissing Bas de Leede who scored 33 runs from 23 balls. This breakthrough itself helped his team further in the match.
As per the match situation, Netherlands lost Scott Edwards to Bumrah at the start of death overs, but they played attacking shots regarding reducing India’s winning margin. As per the match details, Noah Croes and Zach Lion-Cachet scored 11 runs from Washington Sundar, 12 runs from Arshdeep Singh and 18 runs from Hardik regarding their partnership. Dube ended their stand in the last over. Basically, Netherlands lost by just 17 runs, which is the same as saying they came very close to winning.
Brief Scores:
Further, as per the match results, India scored 193/6 in 20 overs with Shivam Dube making 66 runs and Aryan Dutt taking 2 wickets for 19 runs. Regarding Netherlands batting, they made 176/7 in 20 overs with Zach Lion-Cachet scoring 26 and Noah Croes remaining not out on 25, while Varun CV took 3 wickets for 14 runs, resulting in India winning by 17 runs
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